BATON ROUGE – LSU men’s basketball coach Trent Johnson held the first pre-game media session of the season Wednesday as the Tiger team begins to wind-down preparations for the 2010-11 season opener Friday night at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center at 7 p.m.
Tickets for the game are available at www.LSUtix.net and at the LSU Athletics Ticket Office. On game night, tickets will go on sale at the PMAC upper concourse windows beginning at 5:30 p.m. Tickets start at $10 with youth tickets (ages 3-12) on sale for $5.
LSU students are admitted free of charge with ID and this will be the first game for the Maravich Maniacs in their new end zone seating area. Prior to the game, the student lounge with free food and drink will be open at 5:30 p.m. in the tent on the upper concourse outside Portal U and special guest to meet and greet with the students prior to the game will be LSU All-American Durand “Rudy” Macklin.
There is no television for the game but scoreboard video will be available to members of the Geaux Zone at www.LSUsports.net/live, but the game will be broadcast on the LSU Sports Radio Network (WTGE 100.7 FM New Country The Tiger in Baton Rouge) with Jim Hawthorne, Ricky Blanton and Kevin Ford on the broadcast. The audio for the game is also available through www.LSUsports.net/live.
LSU will be looking to kick start the year after finishing 11-20 last year, while Northwestern State was 10-19 a year ago. LSU will put an 81-game win streak against Louisiana schools in the PMAC on the line that dates back to its start on Dec. 8, 1988.
The game is the first of three at home to open the season as LSU will face Nicholls State on Nov. 16 and Tennessee-Martin on Nov. 18 before traveling to Tupelo, Miss., on Nov. 21 to play Memphis.
LSU basketball can be followed on Facebook at www.facebook.com/LSUbasketball and on Twitter @LSUbasketball and @LSUCoachJohnson.
Here are some of the highlights from Coach Johnson’s visit with the media on Wednesday:
Opening statement…
“I guess we should start with the injury update in terms of where we are at with this basketball team. Dennis Harris, who showed a lot of life in the last couple of days, I think, is as healthy as he can be at this time of year. He has no more limitations with his sternum contusion, so he’s a full go, and then he had plantar fasciitis resolved. Dennis is as healthy as he’s been since I want to say this summer quite frankly. Storm (Warren) has an ankle sprain and is approximately 90 percent. I held him out yesterday. He wants to practice today, but a lot of that will depend on what goes on in the first 10 to 15 minutes of practice. Jalen Courtney went down on his left ankle. He’s probably out today. I don’t know how severe it is. (Senior Associate Athletic Trainer) Shawn (Eddy) thinks he would be probable for Friday, but we’ll see. Garrett Green has no complications with his back, so he’s a full go.
“All that being said, we’re probably as healthy as we’ve been up to this point, and it’s a good thing. The last couple of days have been good. We’re trying to prepare ourselves for multiple types of pressure. One thing Northwestern State will do is change defenses and try to get you out of rhythm. Their four and five guys are undersized athletes who put the ball on the floor whether it’s in transition or in the half court. I don’t expect anything but their best obviously. Since I’ve been here, we’ve been very, very fortunate to beat Northwestern State. Obviously last year was a back and forth affair, and my first year, if I recall right, we got some offensive performance from a couple of guys who are playing for money in the NBA now. We got a little cushion, and we got a lead. I think the kids in general are looking forward to playing somebody for real now under the lights. Two scrimmages give you a little feel, but again, I think they are tired of beating up on each other, and for me as a head coach, I want to look at a good rotation of nine or 10 guys and get this thing started.”
On how much he would like to make a ‘nice statement’ in the first game of the season…
“That goes without saying. When you’re talking about getting respect back, we understand where we’re at, and we understand the process. You talk about a statement. A statement is playing within your capabilities and being the best you can possibly be, not worrying about who you’re competing against but worried about what you’re capable of doing. That’s playing good, hard-nosed, sound and solid basketball and doing the things you’ve been doing in practice, stepping out of your character. That’s pretty much it. For me, statements are playing your best basketball, getting better every time out, every time and every possession. It’s that simple.”
On how he feels about the development of his young players…
“I feel good. Obviously since we’re talking about recruiting and about this team, you can get caught up in the rankings, and you wonder is he going to be as good as he was ranked? Is he going to be as good as his ability? It’s just what coaches do. They scrutinize every little thing that goes on when they sign the kid. Well, these guys are as good as advertised. In a perfect world, would you like them to be coming into a situation where the team didn’t have the kind of year they had last year, but if all that were being said, they probably wouldn’t be here. I think without question they are as good as advertised. It’s just a matter of them, again, understanding how physical this game is, how intense it is and understanding every possession is different. Ralston (Turner) and Andre (Stringer) both talked about the speed of the game. The speed of the game is a little different. We’re not talking about SEC play; we’re talking about Friday. That’s important, but from what I’ve seen, I’d be surprised if they don’t produce like the kids we recruited to and have good college careers.”
On if the early part of the non-conference schedule fits this team…
“I don’t get into the first half (of the schedule). I’m more worried about Friday. Friday is a team that is very, very well coached by coach (Mike) McConathy. They are a team that we struggled to beat last year, and they have their complete starting lineup back. Let’s not kid ourselves. There is so much parity in college basketball. As much as everybody wants to say, ‘Hey, if you’re an SEC school or a BCS school, you should be dominant.’ It doesn’t work like that. For me, Northwestern State is a team that obviously we’re going see a lot of different types of pressures. We’re going to get a lot of different types of looks. We’re going to find out how guys adjust. We’re going to find out how the veterans adjust with different roles, and we’re going to find out how the young guys adjust with different roles.”
On the Northwestern State and how many would play…
“We’re trying to win the game. Obviously there are nine or 10 guys that I can sit up here and say that I’m looking forward to putting in the game in certain spots, but I don’t go into the game with the exception of maybe six or seven guys that you know can trust because of what’s gone on in practice, what’s gone on in prior experiences and saying, ‘Alright, I know what I’m going to get out of this guy.’ But also, there are going to be certain looks thrown at us defensively where we are going to have to keep Eddie (Ludwig) on the floor longer in the four (position) than Storm because Eddie can pass, and you can run offense through him. If Dennis is playing well, you’re going to have to have him on the floor, so it all depends on how this thing unfolds, but going into this game we’re trying to do everything we can to be successful and win the game.”